


Unexpected

by LtTanyaBoone



Category: Pan Am
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-02
Updated: 2012-07-02
Packaged: 2017-11-15 06:59:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,662
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/524449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LtTanyaBoone/pseuds/LtTanyaBoone
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Some unexpected surprises await Dean and Colette.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Unexpected

**Disclaimers:** Pan Am, the rights to the show and its characters do not belong to me. No money was made by this.  
 **Spoilers:** AU from 1x14, future fic  
 **Pairing:** Colette Valois/Dean Lowrey

* * *

_London, December 12 th, 1968_

Dean frowned down at the receiver in his hand.

“Colette?”

“ _Oui.”_ she answered and he could hear a soft quiver in her voice.

“You okay?” he asked her, suddenly concerned and checking his watch. It would be another three hours until his flight back to the States from London, he wouldn’t be able to be with her until tonight Eastern Time.

“Of course.” Colette muttered. Even over the miles between them he could detect the lie. Years of working together and being a couple made it so easy to read her sometimes.

“Colette.” he warned her and heard her draw a slow breath. “Are you still feeling dizzy?”

“It is nothing. Do not worry, I am fine.” He could just see her shake her head, sending her bob flying.

“Promise me you will go to a doctor?” he asked her. “Please.”

Silence cackled over the line before he heard her give a soft sigh.

“I already have an appointment.” she admitted reluctantly and he drew himself up in surprise. The dizzy spells had started a little over a week ago and she had brushed his concerns off, saying that it was the job that was getting to her, giving him a tight smile and saying that it would stop once they made their engagement official at the end of the year and she would stop flying then.

“When?” Dean asked her, trying to calculate the time in New York right now.

“A few hours.” Colette answered, her voice growing stronger and more upbeat. “You concentrate on getting back here. I am sure he will just tell me that my blood pressure is a little low and to take it easy.”

“I just worry about you.” he muttered, drawing a deep breath. “And I miss you. They put me in a room with Sanjeev. He snores.”

Her laughter carried over the line.

“Because you don’t?” she giggled and Dean could not help the grin that broke through his concerns.

“I have to go.” he sighed. “Brief the crew.”

“Oh, wait, I met Kate yesterday, she said to tell Laura that her boyfriend is a slob.”

Dean laughed, shaking his head. “Yeah, I’m not gonna go there.” he told her and was happy to hear the smile in her voice when Colette answered.

“A wise choice.”

“I have this girlfriend, she is trying to teach me some wisdom.” Dean teased her and Colette let out a full laugh.

“Seems like she is doing a good job.”

There was a knock on the door and he heard his Sanjeev call for him.

“I have to go. I love you, Colette.”

“Save journey. _Je t’aime_.” she returned and then he heard the click that signaled she had hung up. He stared at the phone for a second before hanging up himself, grabbing his cover and going to leave the hotel room. He couldn’t wait to be able to kiss her again.

* * *

_New York_

When Colette left the building, her mind was reeling. She had not expected anything to be seriously wrong with her. She had had a few dizzy spells over the years, mostly when flying between two contrasting climates, and figured that it was simply her body telling her that she was getting too old for her job. But when she had gotten them at normal days when she was off work, she had wondered, though mostly brushed Dean’s concern away when he had had to actually catch her a few days ago or she would have fainted.

With a deep breath, she forced herself to calm down. This did change their plans slightly. They had agreed to make their engagement public at the end of the year, she would have had to leave Pan Am next year, anyway, given that she would celebrate her thirty-second birthday.

Colette hailed a cab and gave the address of the Pan Am building, drawing a shaky breath as the car started moving, weaving into the traffic. She looked out the window and caught her own reflection, seeing that there was a soft smile playing on her lips. She shook her head at herself, but her grin only grew wider as her hand settled on her abdomen.

Dean was going to be thrilled about this, he had said he wanted at least two children after all.

* * *

“Excuse me, Miss, do you by chance know a Miss Valois?”

Colette whirled around in surprise, shaking her head and lifting her arms to allow Ted to hug her.

“What are you doing here?” she asked him, taking him in. He looked… different, she supposed. Older. Tired.

“They changed my schedule, I was supposed to fly to Berlin, but one of the Sky Gods decided he wanted that flight.” Ted shrugged. Colette punched his shoulder lightly.

“You are one of them, now.” she reminded her friend, looking pointedly at the Captain’s stripes he was wearing. Ted made a throwaway motion with his hand and shook his head.

“Nah, I don’t think I’m ever gonna be one of them.” he shook his head. Colette searched his face, frowning lightly. Something was off.

“How is Amanda? And Charlie?” she asked, surprised at the fluttering in her chest when she thought of the little boy that adored his father so much. She caught herself imagining Dean with a son of their own, a boy with his blond hair demanding that his father play airplane with him…

“Fine, fine. He’s gonna start kindergarten next year.” Ted nodded, looking away and up at the flight schedule. She took the hint.

“What flight are you on now?”

“217, Caracas.” Ted answered. “If we are flying.” he sighed, leaning against the counter. “One of the stewardesses got sick, seems like they can’t find a replacement.”

Colette gave a sympathetic smile.

“What are you doing here, anyway?” Ted asked her, turning to face her again. Her eyes widened and she opened her mouth, though she had no idea what to say. She had come to fill out the paperwork to inform Pan Am that she had to be grounded because of medical reasons, but if she told Ted that, it would be all over Pan Am in the matter of an hour. And she did not want to worry Dean more, she wanted to tell him at home, when they were alone.

“Filling out some paperwork.” she answered instead. “Next year is going to be my final year with Pan Am.”

Ted nodded. She knew Dean had told him about their plan, hell, all of their friends knew. Except Maggie, but then again, Colette had not really been in contact with her since she had been fired from Pan Am for smuggling.

“I am sorry, Captain Vanderway.” the woman behind the counter turned to Ted. “We cannot find a replacement for the stewardess. Pan Am is cancelling the flight.”

Ted sighed dramatically. “Me and Caracas. Never meant to happen.” he joked with a shake of his head.

“Oh, we cannot have that.” Colette shook her head. “I do not have any flights in the next week, I can go.” she turned to the woman.

“Oh. Miss?”

“Valois. Colette Valois.” Colette answered, waiting was the other woman disappeared hastily. She noticed Ted grinning at her. “What?”

“Nothing.” he shook his head, holding up his hands in defeat. “Nothing at all.”

* * *

_Pan Am Flight 217, New York to Caracas_

After borrowing a uniform, Colette found herself on the flight. The only thing she regretted was that when Dean was landing, they were already on board of their plane, preparing everything for the passengers.

She knew two of the other stewardesses, having flown a few times with them, and while she had no idea who the others were, they seemed friendly enough. Ted assured her that they were, having been flying with them for a few months now.

It was a calm, mostly uneventful flight. They left New York when the sun was setting and Colette drew a deep breath. This was it. This was going to be her last flight, as a stewardess at least.

She was making herself a sandwich when Ted came from the cockpit, stretching.

“Can I have a piece?” he asked her and Colette handed him the whole thing, suddenly finding that her appetite had disappeared. “No, I didn’t- Colette?” Ted cut himself off, realizing how pale she had gone all of a sudden. “Woah, hey. Come on, sit down.” he quickly maneuvered her into the chairs for the stewardesses when she started swaying. “Do we need to land, do you need a doctor?” he asked her, clearly concerned. Colette shook her head, drawing slow, controlled breaths and willing the sudden nausea away. No, she would not throw up. Not on a flight, not in front of everyone.

“I am fine.” she insisted, taking the cup of water he handed her.

“Really?”

She nodded, swallowing, feeling her stomach settle. “Yes. It was just the smell.” she told him, her eyes widening when she realize what she had said. Ted’s face froze and he stared at her in surprise.

“You’re not- No way!” he exclaimed and Colette felt herself blush. “Does Dean know?” he asked her in a hushed voice, looking around to make sure no one else was overhearing their conversation. Colette shook her head.

“No. I just found out today, I was going to tell him when he got home.”

“Then why take the damn flight? He’s gonna kick my ass when he finds out!”

She shook her head, squeezing his arm. “He won’t. I was just… I guess I wanted one last flight.” she shrugged with a sigh.

Ted shook his head slightly, giving a dramatic sigh. “You women and your stubbornness!” he exclaimed before his face broke out into a grin. “Though, congratulations.” he added, squeezing her shoulder. “Dean’s gonna be thrilled.”

“I hope so.” Colette smiled at him when Natalie appeared.

“Everything okay, Captain?” she asked, frowning lightly when she saw Colette sitting and Ted standing so close to her.

“Yes, everything is fine.” Ted nodded, taking the sandwich and handing it to Colette. “Eat. Or I will make you.” he told her before nodding at the other stewardess and disappearing back into the cockpit. Upon seeing the quizzical look on Natalie’s face, Colette shrugged and just took a bite from her sandwich, smiling to herself.

* * *

_New York_

“This was left for you.” the man behind the counter told Dean and handed him a note.

“From Colette?” Laura asked, looking over his shoulder. Dean gave her a pointed look and unfolded the paper.

> _Ted needed a stewardess on his flight to Caracas, and I volunteered. I am sorry, Dean, but it will only be three more days and I had to do this. I love you, je t’aime,_
> 
> _Colette_

Instead of her usual heart next to her name, she had drawn two this time, one bigger and a smaller one inside of it. Dean shook his head. He knew she was sorry and that she would miss being a stewardess a lot, he wasn’t going to blame her for trying to get in one more flight. Even if it meant that he had to wait another three days until he could be back in her arms. But they would have Christmas together, and her brother would come, too.

“She’s in Caracas.” he sighed. Laura looked up from her paperwork, giving him a sympathetic look.

“Why don’t you come home with me? Graham has done a new photo series, it will take your mind of missing her.”

He was just about to agree when he remembered what Colette had said to him, the message Kate wanted relayed to her sister. Even though the two were not living together any longer and Kate was always travelling around the world these days (just how much work did a salesman’s secretary have?), the sisters were close and he had no desire to get caught in the crossfire of one of their fights, having learned years ago that even the biggest disagreement would not prevent the Cameron sisters from uniting against a common enemy.

“No, I think I’ll just go home. Or to some bar. Drown my sorrow.” he joked. Sudden hectic broke out in the lobby.

“What’s going on?” Laura asked, looking around in surprise.

“We’ve lost contact to one of our jets.” someone answered.

“Oh no!” the blond woman exclaimed. After years of flying, she had learned that it was usually not a good sign when a plane suddenly went silent. The shock from a few weeks ago, when a group had hijacked a Pan Am plane, was still fresh for everyone. Dean swallowed thickly. Just what he had needed, more bad news.

“Do we know which one?” he asked.

“Clipper Malay.” came the answer from another corner. Dean felt Laura’s hand that had started squeezing his arm let up.

“That’s not Ted’s plane.” she muttered, the color returning to her face. “He was supposed to fly to Germany.”

“Guess he got rescheduled.” Dean told her, showing her Colette’s note. “They’re in Caracas.” he added, relaxing slightly.

“Clipper Malay was scheduled to land in Caracas.” another stewardess told them, her face white as a sheet. Dean and Laura whirled around, staring at her.

“My friend Natalie is on that plane.” the woman shook, tears pooling in her eyes. “They were due to land half an hour ago.” she stared at Dean, her eyes wide with fear. Dean swallowed, taking a deep breath.

“It’s probably nothing.” he heard himself say. “Even if they got hijacked, nothing happened to the passengers and crew on the other flight. Ted’s a great pilot, his crew’s experienced.”

Laura took a deep breath and squared her shoulders.

“Yes. They are all great, great crew. They’ll know what to do.” she declared, but he saw her eyes shift around, staring at the board that was showing the scheduled flights as she bit her trembling lip. Dean pried himself away from her and found a place to sit, drawing slow breaths as he closed his eyes. Nothing was going to happen to Colette.

* * *

_New York, December 13 th 1968_

“Dean?” a voice softly said and a hand squeezed his shoulder. Dean opened his eyes, surprised to find himself looking at Kate.

“Kate?” he muttered, reaching up to rub his eyes. “What times is it?” he looked around. The sun had started to rise and the Pan Am lobby was eerily silent. Kate did not answer, instead she sat down next to him.

“Where’s Laura?” he asked her.

“Graham picked her up.” Kate answered, her voice soft. “Dean…” she started. When she looked at him again, he could see the tears burning in her eyes.

“What about the plane? Clipper Malay, Ted’s plane. Colette was on there, did they show up again?”

Kate drew a shaky breath. “They disappeared from the Caracas radar when they had just said that they were approaching the airport.” she said and the first tear escaped her. “It seems, it seems like they somehow crashed into the ocean. The navy is looking for the, the plane, but... I am so sorry, Dean.”

Dean shook his head. “No.” he muttered, repeating it, louder. No. This wasn’t true. Colette was fine. This wasn’t true. They were going to celebrate Christmas with her brother this year, they were going to announce their engagement on New Year’s Eve and get married early next year. They had already looked at houses, and-

“No.” he repeated, shaking off Kate’s hand on his arm, recoiling from her. “No, you’re lying, you’re, she’s fine. Colette’s fine, she’s, she…” he stammered, shaking his head. “Colette.” he whispered, hiding his face in his hands as he whispered her name over and over again.

_fin._

**Author's Note:**

> Background:  
> Pan Am Flight 217 was a Boeing 707, leaving New York’s JFK Airport on an international flight to Caracas Simon Bolivar International Airport, Dec 12, 1968. While approaching Caracas after the three-hour flight, it suddenly disappeared from the air traffic control’s radar. The Venezuelan Navy, after receiving a call, found the wreckage a little over 11 miles from Caracas. All 42 passengers and the crew of nine perished in the crash.
> 
> Cause of the crash is believed to have been an optical illusion of the lights of the city reflecting on an upslope, which led Pan Am flight 217 to crash into the sea.


End file.
